You Have My Heart
by Hay.girl.lee
Summary: After not speaking to each other for years Bubblegum and Marceline find out that not only are they attending the same University, but they are living on the same floor. A friendship is revived and feelings kept secret for far to long are starting to resurface. College AU
1. Chapter 1

This was it, the day she had been waiting for all summer. Move in day at Ooo University. The hallway was a flurry of activity when Bubblegum stepped out of the elevator onto the fifth floor of the dormitory lugging a rather large, pink suitcase behind her. According to the slip of paper in her hand, Bubblegum's room was number 511.

She made her way down the hall, dodging overly excited students as they moved in and out of other rooms. She hoped things would quiet down after the newness of today wore off. If her new neighbors stayed this rowdy all year she would be spending a lot of time in the library across campus where it's quiet.

After walking almost the entire length of the hall she finally arrives at her destination. Underneath the small black door numbers were two decorations. One was a white flower with Bubblegum's name scrawled across it in bright blue loopy letters. The other was a rainbow with the name Lady written on it in the same pretty handwriting.

All Bubblegum knows about her new roommate is that the girl is a transfer student from Korea and doesn't speak hardly any English. That's why the university had paired them together, seeing as how Korean is one of the five languages she is fluent in. When signing up for rooming assignments Bubblegum was told it "helps the foreign students adjust better if they can comfortably communicate with their roommate." She rolls her eyes at the memory, well duh!

Taking a deep breath, Bubblegum knocks lightly to announce her presence should Lady already be inside, and pushes the door open. She is greeted with glaring white walls and an empty room. Two beds are pushed lengthwise against the left wall with two desks separating them. On the right wall are two closet doors and a dresser which apparently they'll have to share.

The wall opposite the door has a nice big window which looks out over the back parking lot. There is a door on the far side of the right wall which she assumes must lead to the bathroom the two girls will be sharing with their neighbors next door.

Bubblegum breaths a sigh of relief, struggling to unpack all her things in front of a random stranger was something she had not been looking forward to. If she hurries she can bring everything up from her car before her roommate shows up.

Bubblegum deposits her suitcase onto the bed closest to the door and hurriedly retreats back into the hallway, making her way to the elevator. She gets there right as the elevator door is opening, but the person already inside makes her stop short. She felt a weird twinge in the pit of her stomach when she recognized who they were.

A raven haired girl dressed in a baggie Led Zeppelin t-shirt, ripped jeans, and red converse is standing inside gazing down at the floor. The girl is holding a black duffel bag in one hand and a guitar case in the other.

"Marceline?" When the girl looked up and saw Bubblegum she smirked. "Hey Princess, didn't know you were going to this school too." Bubblegum groaned. She and Marceline had gone to the same high school together. The girls had been very close when they were younger, almost inseparable. That all changed sometime before high school however, they drifted apart and things were never the same. Bubblegum knew it was her fault but she would never admit that to anyone, she'd had her reasons.

In their junior year Bubblegum had been crowned prom princess and the whole school had taken to calling her by the title, even their teachers. It was something she had hoped to get away from in college.

"Hello Marceline," she crisply responded. "I didn't think I would run into you here. Are you going to be staying on this floor?" Marceline stepped off the elevator and shrugged. Setting down her duffel bag she dug in her pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper and held it up for Bubblegum to see. "Looks that way."

The number 508 was written under the dark haired girl's name. That was across the hall and two down from Bubblegum's room! Wonderful. She'd have to walk right by it on her way to the elevator every day. That meant she would run the risk of seeing Marceline every day.

Their only real conversation in high school had occurred when they were forced to be lab partners freshman year. The two were supposed to be dissecting a frog but Marceline had wanted no part of it. Bubblegum on the other hand found it fascinating and had no problem cutting open the dead creature. However, in order to get full points both partners needed to participate. This led to a very heated discussion turned full blown argument between the two girls. They had ended up disrupting the entire class and were given detention after school. Needless to say, they avoided each other after that.

Maybe she could build up some leg muscle and take the stairs.

"So.." Marceline's voice snapped her out of her musings. "Are you just gonna stand there blocking my way all day or are you going somewhere?" Bubblegum frowned and sidestepped out of Marceline's path, pushing the down button for the elevator. Yeah she'd totally be taking the stairs. Hopefully they had contrasting schedules and would never see each other.

Marceline hefted her duffel bag onto her shoulder once more and smirked. "See you around Princess." Bubblegum's frown turned into a scowl as Marceline sauntered down the hallway and shouldered her way into what Bubblegum assumed was her room. Just then the elevator dinged and the door opened. Stepping onto it Bubblegum let out a sigh, just think positive, she told herself.

Right as the doors were closing a small boy wearing a white hat bolted through the opening and slammed into Bubblegum causing her to let out an embarrassing squeak. "Ah fudge I'm sorry m'lady!" He exclaimed as he regained his balance. "I almost didn't get on but decided on it at the last minute. So you're a princess? I heard you talking to that other girl with the black hair. Do you need any assistance carrying your things?"

Still slightly shocked, Bubblegum warily reached around the boy and selected the button for the ground floor. "Um, I'm sorry what did you call me?" He tilted his head as he looked up; the boy was at least a head shorter than her. "You are a princess right?" He said. "Or is that your actual name?"

She sighed, damn that Marceline, now she'd never be able to escape the nickname. "Actually my name is Bonnibel Bubblegum. However everyone just calls me Bubblegum." The boy opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him. "And no I am not a princess."

He stared thoughtfully up at her for a minute before replying. "That's a nice name and all but I like princess better, that's gonna be your new nickname!" Oh no no no this was not happening again. "Actually I.." Before she could finish her sentence he interrupted her with his squeaky voice. "Ground floor! Where to m'lady?" Bubblegum sighed as the metal doors opened up, she'd correct him later.

Accepting his offer to help carry her stuff, she allowed him to follow her out to her car parked in the parking lot. No one else was gonna help and besides, with him carrying half of her things it would take less time. Not that she had much to bring up. They each grabbed an armload and headed inside once again.

On the way back up to her room Bubblegum learned the boy's name is Finn, he's 14 years old and is there helping his older brother Jake move in. Even though they only live two blocks away Finn said Jake wanted to get the full college experience and live in the dorms, which Finn was bummed about. However the boy enthusiastically assured her he'd be visiting all the time. They have a younger sister named Fiona but he said she probably wouldn't visit as much, something about always taking care of her cat. Bubblegum just nodded and listened to Finn ramble on, only half paying attention.

They get back to her room and Finn helps her set everything on her side. "Is this all you have?" He asks, looking worriedly at her belongings. Bubblegum had only packed two large suitcases of clothes, dressings for her bed, and a backpack containing all her school supplies and her laptop.

"I live far away," she replies, "I didn't have a ton of room in my car so I just packed the essentials. I'll just buy more things if I need them. No biggie." She glances at her stuff. "It is a little bare in here though."

"I'd start with a desk lamp." He observed and she hummed her agreement.

At that moment a loud voice boomed from the hallway. "FINN! Where the heck are you?" Finn jumps. "Ah nuts that's Jake. Sorry I gotta go, I'll see you around!" The boy dashed out her door yelling, "I'm right here Jake! I was helping Princess Bubblegum with her stuff!"

Bubblegum groans and leans out the door, catching a glimpse of the boy's retreating figure entering a room at the very end of the hall by the elevator. She was about to yell something about how that's not her real name when she notices Marceline exiting her own room. The girl flashes her a dazzling grin and Bubblegum groans again, leaning back into her room and closing the door. Well at least this semester should be interesting.

* * *

 _So this is my first time writing anything like this...like ever. So any feedback would be really appreciated! I told myself I needed to suck it up and get out of my comfort zone, and this story is what I came up with. So enjoy, and thank you for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Just a heads up, dialogue written in italics is the characters speaking Korean. This will mostly be between Bubblegum and Lady. I don't speak/read the language and I don't want to use Google translate and run the risk of writing down something completely different. So this is the method I came up with._

 _Thanks again for reading!_

* * *

After a week and a half of school Bubblegum finally started falling into a comfortable routine. Wake up early, eat breakfast across the street at the dining hall, go to classes, eat a quick lunch, more classes, study at the library, eat dinner with Lady at the dining hall, and finally study in bed until she fell asleep.

Having a routine comforted Bubblegum, sure most of it was boring, but on occasion Finn and his brother Jake would come by to add a little excitement with their crazy antics. Bubblegum suspected they only did so because Jake had a huge crush on her roommate.

Lady had moved in around thirty minutes after Finn helped move her stuff into the room. She was very tall with long black hair, the ends of which were bleached. Bubblegum thought she pulled off the hairstyle nicely and likewise Lady had really liked Bubblegum's pink hair. The two girls connected instantly and soon became comfortable sharing a living space. They had spent that first weekend curled up in blankets watching old Disney movies and eating popcorn.

Although Lady can understand English, she has a lot of trouble speaking it. So she and Bubblegum just stick with speaking Korean, with Bubblegum occasionally having to translate for her when around other people.

The second Wednesday after school began started off like any other day, with a blaring alarm and a lot of grumbling from Bubblegum. After she took care of her morning routine, the girl walked over to Lady's bed where her roommate was still fast asleep.

" _Lady,"_ Bubblegum gently shook her shoulder. " _Do you want to go to breakfast with me?"_ Her question was met with a few loud moans which she took to mean no. Over the last few days, Lady very rarely joined her for breakfast, which is fine. Breakfast is when Bubblegum likes to get in a bit of extra reading anyway.

When she got to the dining hall almost all the tables were full of groggy students either clutching coffee cups or shoveling pancakes into their mouths. After securing her food, Bubblegum made her way to a small table with only two chairs at the back of the large room. She sat down and immediately opened a book, absentmindedly eating a few bites of her oatmeal between page turns.

She became so engrossed in the book that she almost didn't notice someone plop down in the seat across from her, almost. Bubblegum looked up from her page to tell the person that she would really rather eat alone but was surprised to see that the person in question was Marceline.

She had managed to forget her plan to avoid the dark haired girl because as luck would have it their paths hadn't crossed since meeting in front of the elevator on move in day. "Um what are you doing?" Bubblegum asked.

"What does it look like Bonnibel? I'm eating breakfast." Marceline replied without missing a beat, tossing her backpack on the ground next to her feet before taking an alarmingly large bite of an omelet.

Bubblegum sighed, "Yes I can see that. But why are you sitting with me?" she didn't mean to sound rude, but the fact that Marceline just sat down uninvited had kind of thrown her off. That plus the use of her first name, no one ever used her first name and quite frankly she is surprised that Marceline remembers it in the first place.

"Well you see _Princess_ ," Marceline said the title with a sneer. "There are no other tables available and I sure as hell am not gonna be eating my food while standing awkwardly in a corner. So if you have a problem with that you can just go ahead and leave."

The two sat in silence glaring at each other for a minute before Bubblegum finally grumbled "Fine." She turned her attention back to her book and attempted to pretend like the other girl wasn't there. But after only one page Marceline's voice grabbed her attention again.

"Why do you hate me so much anyway?" That caused Bubblegum's head to snap up and meet Marceline's dark brown eyes which were staring straight at her. "I..I don't hate you." She stuttered. The question caught her more off guard than when Marceline had sat down. Although the Marceline had tried to hide it, Bubblegum caught the momentary insecurity in her voice.

The other girl scoffed and took another bite of her breakfast. "Yeah well you coulda fooled me. Is this still because of that time freshman year? Or do you have a whole new reason to hate me? Come to think of it you started hating me before high school."

"I don't hate you Marceline!" The words escaped her mouth before she could really register what she was saying. "I just avoid you…" Yeah saying it out loud made it sound ten times worse.

"What did I ever do to you?" Marceline's question made her stop and think, the two of them had been best friends for as long as she could remember. Up until Bubblegum was forced to make a choice that is. What hadMarceline done? Absolutely nothing, but Bubblegum couldn't explain everything to her. "You…haven't done anything I guess. I just became a real jerk and started avoiding you but after a while it sort of became a habit. I always thought you were avoiding me too."

Something flashed across Marceline's face at that moment; it was an emotion Bubblegum couldn't quite pin down. Maybe she had just imagined it. They sat in silence for a moment; Marceline broke their eye contact and began scrutinizing her omelet again. Squishing the uneaten food into a nasty looking mush with her fork.

After a minute had passed Bubblegum decided she needed to say something. All of a sudden she felt awful. Looking back on things, and yeah she'd thought she had good reasons, but it seemed pretty stupid to distance herself from the dark haired girl. How could she have done that to her best friend in the whole world?

"I'm sorry Marceline." The girl in question slowly looked up from her omelet. "I was being dumb; you didn't deserve to be treated like that."

Marceline shrugged, "It's okay Bonnibel, I've been treated a lot worse, you didn't really do anything. Plus it doesn't matter, I guess I did kinda avoid you too." Bubblegum could feel herself smiling now and after a beat she was happy to see it mirrored on Marceline's face as well.

They both returned to eating and a comfortable silence filled the space between the two. When she finished consuming her omelet mush Marceline stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder as she went, "Well I'll see you around Bonnibel."

She started to walk away but Bubblegum abruptly called after her, "How come you use my real name?" She didn't know why but suddenly the question became very important and Bubblegum needed to know the answer.

Marceline turned to face her mid-stride and continued walking backwards, "Because it's prettier than Princess!" She smirked and twisted back around, depositing her trash in the trash can on her way out of the dining hall.

Bubblegum sat staring at the doors long after Marceline had left. A warm sensation filled up her gut and spread to her chest, Marceline thinks her name is pretty. Marceline thinks her name is pretty. She smiled as the words spun around and round in her head blocking out all other thoughts.

Bubblegum shook herself and turned back to her forgotten breakfast. No! This was not happening again, she couldn't allow it. Why the heck did Marceline's words affect her so much, and where the gloop was this feeling in her chest coming from?

Maybe it's because no one ever uses her first name, it's been years since anyone other than her parents had used it. Bubblegum noticed then that her hands were fiddling with the hem of her sweater nervously.

She took a deep breath to center herself and calm the static in her brain caused by Marceline. Now that she thought about it, it had been nice to talk to her without any tension. Maybe Marceline would show up and eat breakfast with her again.

That thought made Bubblegum smile as she packed up her stuff and headed for her lecture across campus. Ten minutes later as she sat in her seat at the front of the class she was still grinning.


	3. Chapter 3

"That's it! I've had it Marceline! You're awful and I can't take one more minute here with you."

Marceline lazily watched her roommate bustle around their room packing up all of her belongings. The tiny girl had been throwing her stuff in boxes for the past 20 minutes while simultaneously shooting nasty looks Marceline's way whenever she got the chance.

Marceline sighed, "You forgot your bathrobe." Her roommate let out an angry huff and stalked into their bathroom, ripping the robe down off a hook. The girl then stalked back to her things and unceremoniously stuffed the garment it a box.

"So how are you planning to get all this stuff moved out all by yourself? I mean that box alone is bigger than you are." Marceline knew her commentary was completely unwanted but she just couldn't resist.

Her roommate rewarded her efforts with the nastiest glare yet. Marceline didn't know someone could contort their face into such a look of loathing, she wondered if it physically hurt to do that. "Not that it's any of your business," her roommate replied, "but I have help coming because unlike you I actually have friends."

Ouch, yeah that hurt a little bit, but she'd never let on that it did. Instead Marceline sarcastically replied, "Ooohh BURN!" and went back to plucking her bass which had been resting comfortably on her lap the entire time.

"UGH you're just infuriating!" Her roommate then wrenched open their door and marched out into the hallway leaving the entrance to their room wide open and all her belongings still sitting on her bed.

Marceline only had enough time to wonder about the girl's sanity for a split second before the girl was back with two boys in tow. Marceline instantly recognized them, "Hey Finn. Hey Jake. How's it going?" She had seen them in the hallway before and even had a music theory class with Jake.

Finn's face broke out into a big smile when he realized who was in the room. "Hey Marceline! I had no idea YOU were the crazy, psycho roommate." Marceline shrugged, her best smirk in place, "Yeah you got me."

"Ahem, if you guys are finished could you please help me with my things? I'd really like to leave now." Her roommate, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed in front of her chest looked like she was ready to burn the entire place down with a single glance.

"Sure thing! Hey Finn, I bet I can carry more than you." Jake immediately started scooping up boxes and stacking them in his arms. "Ah no way dude you're on!" Finn enthusiastically started helping and within seconds the two boys had everything out of the room and were headed down the hallway.

Marceline glanced up at her now ex-roommate who was still standing in the doorway. "Well that was a blast." And that must have been all it took for the girl to finally snap because she started yelling at the top of her lungs.

"You are literally the worst person on the face of this earth! I can't stand being around you and I never want to see you ever again! I can't imagine anyone would ever like you, they would have to be criminally insane!" Marceline just blinked at the enraged girl so she threw out one last insult. "And you're music sucks!"

With that the small girl turned on her heel and left. Marceline let out a sigh, hopefully word of this would get around and she wouldn't be assigned another roommate. That would be the one good thing to come of this she supposed.

"What in Globs name just happened in here?" Marceline's head snapped up to see Bubblegum and Lady standing in her still wide open doorway.

She smiled, "Just had a little disagreement with the roommate." Bubblegum raised an eyebrow, "You couldn't even go three weeks before running off your roommate? What happened?"

"Hey now," Marceline managed to look a little offended, "I didn't do anything! The little hotdog princess just didn't like me for some reason." At that Lady snorted, " _I'm calling total bullshit on that._ " Bubblegum quickly responded, " _Hey we don't know the whole story yet_." She then rounded on Marceline. "That's mean; you really shouldn't call her that."

"Well I'm sorry, but she constantly smells like hotdogs. I think she might even have hotdog scented shampoo." Bubblegum giggled, and yeah that's pretty freaking adorable.

"Well you still shouldn't call her that." Marceline sighed before smiling and replying, "Fine." The two continued to stare at one another smiling with Lady looking between the two of them confused. " _Is there something going on between you two? Because I can totally leave if you need me too_."

Bubblegum jerked and spun around to look at her roommate. " _What?! Why do you say that_?"

" _Oh, no reason_."

Before Bubblegum could respond Marceline interjected. "Would either of you mind filling me in on what the heck the two of you are saying? Because anything that makes Bubblegum that red must be either really funny or really embarrassing."

Bubblegum's hands flew to her face in an attempt to cover up her red cheeks which only made both Lady and Marceline chuckle. " _Yeah I think I'm going to go finish up some homework. You're going to have to fill me in on all of this_ ," Lady pointed between Bubblegum and Marceline " _later tonight. Have fun!"_ With that the girl turned and strode down the hallway towards her and Bubblegum's room.

Marceline chuckled again, "So are you gonna fill me in or what? Why did she point at us?" Bubblegum snapped her hands away from her face and busied herself with smoothing out invisible wrinkles on her shirt before finally looking back up at Marceline. "It doesn't matter. She's just going to finish up some homework is all."

"Mmhm" Marceline knew there was more to it but decided not to push the issue. Instead she once again resumed playing a soft tune on her bass.

"You know, this is the first time I've seen inside your room." Bubblegum commented as her eyes roamed around the small space. Marceline suddenly got slightly nervous and self conscious. She didn't expect Bubblegum to stick around after Lady left. Sure they had gotten into a habit of eating breakfast together every morning but that was it as far as daily interaction went.

Marceline knew the pink haired girl had been actively avoiding her for years so she just figured that would continue on into college. She had even made note of when Bubblegum usually left her room so that she could leave a few minutes after. Better that than have to endure awkward eye contact and the cold shoulder she had become so accustomed to in high school.

But now this, Bubblegum taking in every inch of her room and starting casual conversation, this was throwing her off. This just doesn't happen. "Um, yeah I guess so."

Bubblegum's eyes landed on Marceline's other instruments, an acoustic guitar, banjo, and ukuele, all leaning up against the far wall. "Woah dude no way! Can you play all of those?"

Marceline couldn't help herself from being sarcastic, "No Bonnibel I just keep them around for show." Bubblegum's face tinted pink and she sat down on the now empty bed across from Marceline with a huff. "Well excuse me! I didn't know you could play so many instruments. Last I knew you had just gotten your bass and were learning that."

Yeah well that's what happens when your best friend dumps you, you get a lot of time to practice. "I like music and I like learning new things. It's fun."

Bubblegum nodded and tilted her head to the side as if thinking something over. Marceline simply raised an eyebrow and waited for the girl to say what was on her mind. After a minute of silent contemplation she finally did. "Will you play something for me?"

Marceline didn't know what she expected to come out of Bubblegum's mouth but that was definitely not it. "Um…sure." She sat up a little straighter, adjusted her bass in her lap and cleared her throat before plucking out a tune and singing along.

"I can't help it if I make a scene,

Stepping out of my hot pink limousine.

I'm turning heads and I'm stopping traffic,

When I pose, they scream and when I joke, they laugh."

A huge grin broke out over Bubblegum's face and she let out a little giggle, nodding her head along to the beat of the song.

"I've got a pair of eyes that they're getting lost in,

They're hypnotized by my way of walking,

I've got them dazzled like a stage magician,

When I point, they look , and when I talk, they listen well,"

Bubblegum's eyes followed Marceline's fingers as they smoothly glided over the strings. She didn't even need to look down when she played; her hands knew where to go all on their own.

"Everybody needs a friend,

And I got you and you and you.

So many, I can't even name them,

Can you blame me? I'm too famous."

Bubblegum's eyes traveled back up to meet Marceline's and she knew the girl was staring straight into her soul. When she sings it's like Marceline opens herself up all the way, all of her emotions spilling out and leaking all over the place; even on a song like this.

"Haven't you noticed that I'm a star?

I'm coming into view as the world is turning.

Haven't you noticed I've made it this far?

Now, everyone can see me burning,

Now, everyone can see me burning,

Now, everyone can see me burning."

When the song ended Marceline didn't know what to do, Bubblegum was still staring at her and she couldn't bring herself to break the eye contact. She had missed being able to stare into those bright blue eyes over the last few years.

The pink haired girl seemed to shake herself and the huge grin was once again back on her face. "I've heard that song on the radio! I didn't know you liked it!" Marceline shrugged, "I don't really, it just had a good melody and was easy to learn." Bubblegum scoffed in disbelief so Marceline continued, "No really! My songs are way better. They've got real emotion in them."

Bubblegum's mouth opened wide and her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "You mean you actually write songs too?" Another shrug, "I mean yeah. If you want you should totally come hear my band play. We've got a gig coming up on Saturday. Wanna come?"

All of a sudden Bubblegum shot up off the bed excitedly, "Are you kidding? Duh I want to come! It will be so much fun!" Marceline smiled and then remembered something. She got up and made her way to her closet, rummaging around before pulling something off a hanger.

"Okay cool well you're gonna need this then." She offered Bubblegum one of her band's t-shirts. The girl's excitement quickly turned into astonishment as she reverently took the offered article of clothing. "Wow thanks Marcy."

Marceline stiffened; Bubblegum had just used her nickname. She hadn't been called that by her in a long time and it sent a shiver down her spine. Bubblegum too seemed to realize what she had said and turned bright red all over again.

She started to slowly back away towards the door. "Um..ahem..I'm just gonna..go. I'm gonna go now. I..I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast? Yeah I'll see you tomorrow. Um..bye!" Before Marceline could even recover Bubblegum was gone, out the door and in her own room.

Marceline stood frozen on the spot, the echoes of Bubblegum's voice saying her nickname bouncing around in her head.

* * *

This is probably a good time to say that I don't own any of the characters of Adventure Time OR this wonderful song by Rebecca Sugar (though I wish I did)

Btw thank you guys so much for all the likes/follows/reviews. It really means a lot to me! And DarkestAngel18..don't worry, you're questions will be answered soon :)


	4. Chapter 4

I want to apologize about the long wait on this chapter, for some reason it gave me a lot of trouble. Anyway thank you so much for reading, enjoy!

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Why did she do that? Why the heck did she do that?!

Bubblegum tried to bring a spoonful of cereal to her mouth but couldn't quite carry it all the way up. Her mind was still panicking over what happened yesterday and it had started affecting her motor skills apparently. She sighed and let the spoon fall back down into the bowl. The dining hall was extra noisy this morning but Bubblegum didn't hear a thing outside of her own head.

After running back to her room yesterday she had slammed the door and flopped down face first onto her bed with a disgruntled moan. She couldn't have this happen all over again, she just couldn't. Lady had started pelting her with questions immediately and after an hour or so Bubblegum had finally given in.

Bubblegum told her about how close she and Marceline had been, how they had been inseparable and got into all sorts of mischief together. Their friendship grew and the two of them had become closer, almost too close.

Bubblegum's parents began to notice this and felt they had needed to take some sort of action. They forced her to end her friendship with Marceline, and it had broken her heart almost as much as it had broken Marceline's.

She told Lady everything. It had felt good to confide in someone else for once, made her feel better, but it still didn't change the fact that this couldn't happen again. Bubblegum sighed, leaning back in her chair with her arms folded in front of her. She stared into her bowl of forgotten cereal as if searching for answers.

Hanging out with Marceline brought back all sorts of feelings and emotions she had forced herself to forget. Bubblegum is a different person when Marceline is around, she knows it. Marceline always had a knack of bring out the best in her and always made her feel more like herself. When she was forced to break off their friendship it was like ripping away the best part of herself.

Afterwards it was like she had this hole in her chest. She had tried to fill it by pouring herself into her school work and science experiments all through high school. But no matter how hard she tried, Bubblegum couldn't stop herself from missing Marceline. She sighed, why does this have to be so hard?

"Wow what did your cereal ever do to earn such a look? You keep frowning like that and you're gonna get wrinkles." Marceline sat down across from her with a smile. "Sorry I'm late, slept through my alarm."

Bubblegum gave her a small smile, "I wondered where you were. I was just about to send out a search party."

"Ha! Yeah I bet." Marceline replied sarcastically. The two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Marceline seemed to remember something. "Oh hey! Before I forget, the gig tomorrow night is at 7 at this place a few blocks from here, I don't remember the name at the moment. It's like a coffee shop during the day and a bar by night, weird right? Anyway they are letting us play which is awesome cause it's our first show and I guess a lot of kids from campus go there to hang out. I can totally write down directions if you want them."

Bubblegum could practically feel Marceline's excitement radiating off of her from across the table. It only caused her guilt to eat away at her stomach, ripping her apart from the inside out. She didn't want to ruin tomorrow night for Marceline, but she had to. Bubblegum cleared her throat in an attempt to dislodge the lump that had formed there during Marceline's little rambling session.

"Hey, you okay?" Bubblegum looked up into Marceline's eyes which were full of concern and she couldn't take it, she had to do it now or she never would be able to. "Marceline" She started slowly, "I can't go to the show."

It took a few seconds for her words to sink in, when they did Marceline's face fell, her brows knitting together in confusion. "How come?"

Bubblegum couldn't look at Marceline anymore so she diverted her gaze to her hands folded in her lap. "Because I forgot I already have something going on that I can't get out of. I'm really sorry Marceline."

She heard Marceline lean back in her chair with a thump. "Fine. I gotta go or I'll be late for class." The dark haired girl pushed off gruffly from the table, grabbed her backpack and stalked out of the dining hall, leaving her half eaten breakfast on the table.

Bubblegum reached up and grabbed two fistfuls of her hair, letting out a long frustrated sigh before allowing her arms to fall back onto the table. She glanced at her watch and had to choke back a sob because there was still 25 minutes before classes started. She knew from experience that it only takes 7 minutes to walk to Marceline's first class.

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Why did she have to get her hopes up every flipping time? She should know better by now than to put her faith in Bonnibel Bubblegum. It's the following afternoon after her conversation with the pink haired girl and Marceline was still grumbling to herself about what happened at yesterday's breakfast.

She hardly paid any attention in her classes yesterday because all she could think about was the look of regret on Bonnibel's face when she had told her she couldn't go to the show. Bubblegum had looked like she really wanted to be there but something was holding her back. Marceline just couldn't figure out what that could be.

On the outside this all felt exactly like what happened to them before high school, when Bonnibel had broken off their friendship. Marceline's stomach twisted in a knot just thinking about that. However, underneath it all something was different about this time. This time Bubblegum seemed to struggle more with rejecting Marceline, she seemed to still want to be friends. But maybe Marceline was just reading into something that wasn't even there.

She let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back into the couch. She's sitting in the floor lounge at the end of the dorm hall with Finn, Jake, and Lady but she's only half paying attention to their conversations. Marceline had brought her bass with her and has it resting atop her lap, busy plugging in her mini amp.

As an afterthought she plugs in headphones into the amp and slips them over her ears so she can practice without anyone else really hearing. Marceline starts slowly picking out a melody and quickly loses herself in her music, forgetting entirely about her friends only a few feet away.

Because of her headphones and intense focus on her music she fails to see Finn look around in confusion and wonder where Princess Bubblegum is. She doesn't see Jake's shrug or hear Lady reply that Bubblegum is probably in their room, not that she would have understood what the girl said anyway.

Marceline also fails to observe when Finn jumps up and leaves the room heading down the hall towards Bubblegum's room. What she does finally notice however is Finn a few moments later when he returns to the lounge in complete hysterics.

"Oh my GLOB you guys!" he shouts as he charges back into the room looking wildly at the three of them. "P..Princess B..Bubblegum..she…she" he stammers, not seeming to be able to comprehend whatever situation was going on.

Marceline takes off her headphones and looks questioningly at the boy. "What about her Finn?"

"I saw her in her room, I didn't knock, I should have knocked. But I walked in and she was just sitting there doing..drugs." He whispered the last word. The entire room was silent for a few minutes before all three of them started talking at once.

"Drugs? Are you sure?"

" _What are you talking about Finn she doesn't do drugs_."

"Holy macaroni! Dude we gotta get her help!"

Realization suddenly dawned on Marceline and she rolled her eyes and shook her head while Finn and Jake continued to babble frantically. "Finn!" she said loudly, silencing them all. "Bubblegum is not doing drugs."

"Then what was she doing?" He asked carefully.

Marceline sighed again, "It's not really my place to say but since you two are about to have a stroke over it…Bubblegum has Diabetes. You probably saw her taking her insulin shot."

Finn looked instantly confused, as did Jake. He looked to Lady as if to verify what Marceline had just said and she simply nodded her agreement. Jake looked back to Marceline with his brow scrunched up.

"Hang on just a tick. I thought Diabetes happened to people who eat way too many cheeseburgers. Bubblegum only eats nasty good for you food."

"Actually Type 1 can affect anyone but is mostly diagnosed in children and young adults." A voice cuts through their conversation. They all turn to see Bubblegum standing red faced in the doorway arms crossed in front of her.

"I heard Finn's yelling and came to see what was the matter." She shifted weight from one foot to the other, waiting for one of them to say something. Finn was the first to snap out of it. "I'm so sorry PB, I should have knocked or at least asked what you were doing. I shouldn't have been spying on you."

Bubblegum smiled at the boy, "It's okay Finn, and it's really no big deal." She walked over to the three of them and started having a conversation, explaining what diabetes is to Finn. Marceline watched them for a second before putting her headphones back on and returning her focus to her bass. A few minutes go by and she manages to lose herself in her music again as she strummed a brand new melody.

She unexpectedly felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Bubblegum smiling softly down at her. Marceline immediately stopped playing and removed her headphones.

"Can I sit with you?" Marceline silently nodded and scooted over so Bubblegum could take a seat next to her. "I want to apologize Marceline."

"Oh no, you don't have t-"

"Yes I do so let me okay!" Marceline snapped her mouth closed and let the other girl continue.

"I know I've hurt your feelings by not being able to go to your show and that was not my intention. I really wish I could watch you play, it looks like fun. Please forgive me." Bubblegum looked at her with pleading eyes and Marceline had to turn her head away because she just couldn't handle that strong of emotion from the other girl at the moment.

She nodded her head though, suddenly being mad at the other girl didn't seem all that important. "There's nothing to forgive Bonnibel." She could feel the other girl relax and it made her heart flutter a little bit knowing Bubblegum had felt her forgiveness was really that important. Maybe this time really was different after all.

"Also, I really appreciate you stopping Finn and Jake from charging into my room and rushing me to a rehab center. That would have been really embarrassing." Marceline just chuckled, "Yeah that coulda been bad."

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Marceline turned her head to look over at Bubblegum through her bangs. "So..PB huh? That's a new one."

Bubblegum let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah Finn and Jake have come up with a lot of nicknames like those, PB and Peebles to name a few. I've learned there's no use in trying to correct them so I just let it happen."

Bubblegum leaned back, relaxing into the couch, and Marceline became very aware of the fact that their shoulders were now touching. It was like her skin felt electrified at the contact. Really Marceline? She mentally scolded herself for being such a sap over this small little action that probably didn't mean anything at all to the other girl.

"You don't have to stop you know." Bubblegum's words made Marceline give her a confused look and she chuckled. "Playing your guitar I mean. I like listening to you play."

All of a sudden Marceline had thousands of butterflies flittering around in her stomach and she almost forgot how to breathe. Man she really needed to get a grip on herself. "Uh..o..okay sure."

She slid the headphones from around her neck and gently placed them over Bubblegum's own ears. When Bubblegum started to sit up and protest she shook her head, "You gotta listen to it like this. The sound is way better than just listening to me strum while the bass is plugged in."

So Bubblegum just nodded and leaned back into the couch once again. They sat like that for an hour or so, Marceline playing her songs and quietly humming the words while Bubblegum watched her fingers move across the guitar with a smile on her face.

Every once in a while Marceline would catch Bubblegum staring at her out of the corner of her eye and the butterflies would resurface to wreak havoc in her stomach before settling back down when Bubblegum would return her gaze to the guitar. Maybe it's a good thing Bubblegum isn't going to the show; Marceline decided she would probably fall off the stage the first time she caught the girl looking at her.


	5. Chapter 5

I've changed the rating on this story to be on the safe side, just letting you all know.

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" _So you and Marceline were getting real comfy on that couch earlier today."_ Bubblegum looked up from her homework to see her roommate giving her a smug smile from across the room.

" _Oh pssh, we were just sitting."_ She tried to play it off like it was nothing but she knew Lady saw right through her.

" _Whatever you say_ Princess, _I saw that look you kept giving her_."

" _There was no look!"_ Bubblegum grumbled as she stood up, putting her homework away. " _I'm going to go get my laundry. I'll be back."_ With that she grabbed her laundry basket off the floor and walked out of the room without glancing at Lady, afraid to see the knowing look on the other girl's face.

The Laundromat was a tiny building right next door to the dorms so Bubblegum had no problem just leaving her clothes there to wash and dry. No one usually messed with other people's clothes, especially at this time of night.

She found herself wondering if Marceline was back from her show yet. It's nearly 1 in the morning so surely the show was over with by now. As she exited the dormitory Bubblegum noticed a figure stumbling toward the dorms from a ways down the block. After a moment she recognized the guitar slung across the person's back as Marceline's red ax bass.

She frowned, the girl looks drunk, what the heck is Marceline up to? At that moment Marceline stumbled forward and crashed into the ground landing heavily on her elbows. "Marcy!" Bubblegum dropped her laundry basket and raced over to the other girl.

She leaned down and helped Marceline to her feet, "Marcy are you okay? What's going on?" The girl in question definitely smelled of alcohol and Bubblegum groaned. This was just perfect.

Marceline leaned heavily on her and when she finally looked up Bubblegum gasped because Marceline's lip was split open and bleeding down her chin. "Marceline tell me what happened." She said sternly.

Marceline gave her a small smile, "Hey Bonnie."

Despite herself Bubblegum smiled, "Don't you 'Hey Bonnie' me, I'm trying to figure out what in Glob's name happened to you." Marceline just swayed a bit and leaned her head on Bubblegum's shoulder.

"Bonnie I fell. Is my guitar okay?"

Bubblegum sighed, "Yes it's fine. Let's just get you up to your room." The two started making their way to the dorms slowly and by some miracle Bubblegum managed to get Marceline to the elevator without any problems. On the ride up to their floor Marceline slumped against Bubblegum and seemingly passed out on her shoulder.

Bubblegum gently patted her cheek, "Hey you can't fall asleep on me, we're not to your room yet and you still haven't told me what happened." Marceline just grumbled incoherently but seemed to stand up a little bit straighter.

Once they made it to their floor Bubblegum directed them to Marceline's door but stopped short realizing it was locked.

"Marceline, where are your keys?"

The dark haired girl grinned, "In ma pocket."

"Which one Marceline?" Bubblegum didn't have time for this, she needed to get Marceline into her room before anyone saw them.

"Don't know." Was the only reply she got so she started checking Marceline's pockets which made the girl giggle turning Bubblegum's face red. Finally locating the missing keys in one of Marceline's jacket pockets she opened the door and ushered the girl inside, setting her down on her bed.

Bubblegum gently took the guitar from Marceline and set it against the wall with the other instruments. She turned back to see Marceline flopped down on her back with her eyes closed.

"Oh no you don't! We need to get you cleaned up before you just pass out." Bubblegum pulled Marceline into a sitting position, turning her face to look up at her. "Marcy where are your pajamas?"

Marceline just gazed up at Bubblegum but after a moment she silently pointed to the dresser. Without a word Bubblegum began to rummage through the drawers pulling out an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts, hopefully this is what Marceline liked to sleep in. She walked back over to the bed and handed the clothes to Marceline.

"Alright go change and I'll clean you up when you're done." Marceline just looked at the clothes in her hands and let out whine, offering the clothes back up to Bubblegum.

"Fine, be that way." Bubblegum grumbled. She set the clothes on the bed next to Marceline and gently removed the girl's jacket and shoes. Next, before she could put much thought into it, Bubblegum carefully lifted Marceline's shirt over her head, exposing the girl's flawless pale skin and lacy black bra.

Bubblegum gulped, quickly looking away and tossing the discarded shirt onto the floor. She helped Marceline into the t-shirt before making the girl stand up, now for the hard part.

She held Marceline steady by the shoulders but couldn't bring herself to do what needed to be done. "Marcy, if I hold you up do you think you could change out of your jeans?" Marceline just nodded and proceeded to unbutton her pants and clumsily shimmy out of them.

Bubblegum's face burned as she reached around Marceline for her shorts, purposely avoiding looking at the other girl. She helped Marceline step into the shorts and carefully slid them into place, painfully aware of how red her face was.

Marceline then sat back down on the bed and Bubblegum rummaged around in the bathroom for a wash cloth. When she found one she wet it with warm water and made her way back into the room. She tilted Marceline's face to look up and proceeded to gently clean the cut on her lip making the girl wince in pain.

"Marcy, please tell me what happened."

Marceline diverted her eyes to the side before mumbling, "Someone said some bad stuff and I hit him and he hit me and then I hit him some more and then you found me."

Bubblegum stopped dabbing at Marceline's lip to lean back and give the girl an exasperated look. "Marceline, just because someone says something mean to you doesn't mean you have to hit him."

Marceline just shook her head slowly, "Not me, you."

Bubblegum sat there stunned for a few minutes. Why would Marceline pick a fight with some guy just because he said something bad about her? Marceline didn't need to defend her, but yet she did. She backed away, "I'm uh, I'm gonna get you some water."

She grabbed a cup off Marceline's desk and once more headed into the bathroom. She tossed the bloodied wash cloth into the bathtub and filled the cup with cold water. She returned to the room and handed the cut to Marceline who took a few sips.

Bubblegum sat down on the empty bed across from Marceline, studying her as she drank more water. "Why did you let what that guy said make you so mad? You didn't have to do that." Marceline finished off the water and tossed the cup to the floor.

"Just cause you stopped bein' my friend doesn't mean I don't care about you." She said as she lay down on her side facing Bubblegum, sleepily looking up at her.

Bubblegum felt cold, as if Marceline's words were an ice bucket that had just been dumped over her head. After all she had done to this girl in the past; Marceline still cared for her as if nothing had ever happened. She let out a sob, "Marcy I'm so sorry, I've been a real dinger to you." Bubblegum took a deep breath her mind made up. No more pushing Marceline away, no more hurting her best friend.

"I never wanted to stop being your friend." She began speaking without really realizing what she was saying. "Truth is, I really like you Marceline. Apparently I wasn't very subtle back then and my parent's found out. They thought it was wrong and yelled at me, telling me to stay away from you. You were living with Simon at the time and when I refused to stay away from you my father told me that Simon was one of his employees. He threatened to get Simon fired and told me that if that happened you guys would have no money and you'd have to move back in with your dad. I was so scared because I know how much you love Simon. I had to agree to never speak to you again and Simon could keep his job. I know that probably sounds weak of me but I cared about you so much and didn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Bubblegum stared at her hands in her lap, twisting her fingers nervously as she spoke. "They sent me to this church camp that summer to try to straighten me out. It was awful." Noticing Marceline had yet to say a word Bubblegum looked up at her and her shoulders slumped when she saw the other girl fast asleep, hair falling in front of her face.

She sighed sadly; Marceline probably didn't hear a word of what she'd said. Suddenly Bubblegum felt very tired, mentally and physically exhausted. She leaned forward, pulling the blankets over Marceline and brushed her bangs from her face and tucking them behind her ear. Bubblegum let her fingers linger in Marceline's hair a little longer than they should have before pulling away.

She sat back down on the empty bed and realized her laundry was still in the dryer, it didn't matter though. She sat there gazing down at her sleeping friend with a determined look on her face. Her parent's be damned, Marceline is the best thing in her life and now the two of them have a second chance. She's not about to push Marceline away again.


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Adventure Time (unfortunately)

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"Hey nice set Marceline!"

Some guy called to her as she was busy packing everything up on stage. She turned to thank him but the dude was already lost in the small crowd inside the bar. Marceline shrugged and continued on with her work.

It really had been a good show; she wished Bubblegum had been able to go. Sure the girl had apologized and genuinely looked like she regretted not being able to be there but the rejection still hurt. Marceline shook her head, don't think about that, at least try to have some fun tonight.

She stood up and scanned the room for her band mates, one of them had promised to sneak her a few drinks and she planned to take full advantage of that. It's just for tonight, what could happen?

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Marceline ended up losing count of the number of drinks she had consumed after a while. It felt good to just let go of everything and focus on having fun. She didn't think about a certain pink haired girl, it would have only upset her anyway and she was having fun tonight. However her night ended up taking a turn for the worst when she overheard a conversation between two students who had just claimed the seats at the bar next to her.

"I think you're full of shit man."

"No way, I'm telling you I can do it. Just pick a girl, any girl, and I can get her into bed within a day."

Ugh Marceline couldn't help but be instantly repulsed by the two guys. Is that really all boys care about? Do they all objectify women like that? Thank Glob she liked girls, girls are nice. She smiled to herself and took another drink of whatever it was that was in her cup, she couldn't remember anymore.

"Okay Ricardio you're on." the first voice said, "How about that girl you're always staring at in chem. 1?" The second boy snickered, "You mean the girl with pink hair who sits at the front of class?"

That pulled Marceline's attention away from her drink instantly. They couldn't be talking about Bubblegum, there had to be other girls with pink hair right?

"Yeah that one!" The first boy smacked his hand on the table in excitement, "Oh what's her name? The professor is always calling on her when no one knows the answer."

Marceline couldn't help the smile that spread across her face; of course Bubblegum would be the smartest one in her class. The second boy, Ricardio, wiped that smile right off her face though with his next statement.

"Yeah she's such a nerd. I think her last name is Bubblegum, can't remember her first. But it doesn't matter cause you're on! I've been wanting to get a piece of that for a while now and it'll be almost too easy because girls like her probably don't get out much. She'll hop on the first guy to give her any sort of attention."

Both boys laughed loudly at that and Marceline couldn't stand it anymore. These two disgusted her and she wanted nothing more that to kick their asses and make them regret ever saying anything derogatory about Bonnibel. They didn't know her like Marceline did. They didn't know just how magnificent Bonnie is, how special and important she is. And Marceline sure as hell was not gonna let them get away with talking about her Bonnie!

She slammed her glass down on the bar and turned to the two next to her, "Hey listen here you wads, don't you dare talk about Bonnie like that!"

The next thing Marceline knew she was punching Ricardio, at least she assumed it was him, in his stupid smug face. She was so enraged she forgot that there were two of them until the first boy came out of nowhere and decked her straight in the mouth, knocking her to the floor.

At that point there was a lot of yelling and a couple random guys jumped in and drug the two boys out of the bar. Someone helped Marceline to her feet, she suddenly felt very sick and her only thought was that she needed to leave. Somehow she managed to grab her bass on the way out of the bar and stumbled out into the street, making her way back to the dorms.

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The first thing Marceline registered when she woke was pain. Her head felt like it was about to explode and her right hand was throbbing. What the hell happened to her?

She opened her eyes just a fraction, taking note that she was somehow back in her room in bed. Thankfully the blinds were closed and the room was still relatively dark. Marceline brought her hand up to her face and took note of how bruised her knuckles were.

Suddenly her eyes snapped wide open as the memories from last night came flooding back. She remembered getting into that fight and Bubblegum finding her on the street and taking care of her.

Oh Glob, Bubblegum had undressed her.

The memory made Marceline's face heat up and she let out a groan. She remembered Bubblegum tending to her busted lip and she remembered laying down, but right before she passes out became a little fuzzy. Marceline knew there was more but for the life of her she couldn't remember what had happened.

Just then she heard a rustling coming from behind her making Marceline freeze, she slowly turned onto her other side to see what it was. Marceline's heart skipped a beat when she realized that Bubblegum was fast asleep in her roommate's empty bed.

The girl looked so peaceful in her slumber and Marceline gazed, transfixed, at the sight before her. Since her roommate had taken all her stuff with her there was literally nothing on the bed but a mattress and Bubblegum was curled into a ball on her side, as if not having a pillow or blanket didn't matter. Bright pink hair fanned out across the bed behind her head and her bangs fell over one of her eyes.

Marceline had the strong urge to reach over and brush the hair back from her face but before she could Bubblegum stirred. Marceline watched mesmerized as Bubblegum opened her eyes just a fraction, not really seeing anything, and uncurled her body into a fantastic looking full body stretch letting out a little moan. Then Bubblegum opened her eyes for real and seemed to take in her surroundings with confusion for a split second before she seemed to remember something and smiled sheepishly, "Morning."

Marceline never really appreciated how beautiful Bonnibel is until that moment, her hair a mess and sticking out in all directions and wiping sleep from her eyes with the heel of her hand. She realized that she had been staring and still hadn't given a response so she managed to force out a, "Uh, morning." Wow, so articulate.

Bubblegum grinned at her and sat up, her legs dangling over the edge of the bed facing Marceline. "So how are you feeling this morning?" Marceline sat up as well mirroring the other girl.

"Hmph alright I guess. I have a headache and my hand hurts but other than that I'm just fine." Bubblegum frowned, "Your hand? What happened to your hand?"

"Uh I don't remember everything from last night but I'm pretty sure I told you about getting in a fight and punching some guy."

"Oh you're right!" Bubblegum shot up and roughly sat on Marceline's bed next to her, grabbing her hand and examining it gently. Anything Marceline was feeling in her hand or head was completely forgotten, all her attention zeroed in on the soft hands tracing patterns over her bruised hand as if searching for a way to heal it.

The touch was so warm and it sent currents shooting up through her arms and across her entire body. The concern plastered on Bonnie's face was enough to melt her heart and make it swell all at once because Bonnie was actually directing that concern at her, as if worried about her.

Then Bubblegum seemed to become aware of what she was doing and her whole body tensed up, Marceline's hand still incased in hers, and she slowly looked up to meet Marceline's eyes. They were close, very close actually, and there was this new electricity in the air that hadn't seemed to be there before. Neither one of them moved as it crackled around them and seemed to get stronger the longer they held eye contact.

Marceline couldn't be the only one feeling this right? Bubblegum had to be aware of what was going on because there was a new look in her eye that Marceline hadn't seen before, it both thrilled and scared her because she couldn't place what it was. Involuntarily she started to lean in closer to the other girl, drawn there by the electricity, and Bubblegum's eyes broke from hers for a split second to glance down at her lips before snapping back up.

Then reality came crashing back, what was she doing? There's no way this moment holds the same weight to Bonnie as it does to her, Bonnie never liked her like that. Marceline broke eye contact with a small sigh and leaned back away, cutting off the electricity in the air and effectively snapping Bubblegum out of her trance. She gave Marceline her hand back and averted her eyes, not pointedly staring at her hands in her lap.

"Hey," Marceline said gently touching Bubblegum's shoulder for a second. "My hand is fine, just a little bruised." When Bubblegum only nodded a little she continued, "How come you slept on that bed? That couldn't have been comfortable."

Bubblegum looked up at the bed in question and just shrugged one shoulder. "I dunno. I just wanted to make sure you were alright and I was really tired so I just sort of laid down. I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable, I shouldn't have."

"Hey!" Marceline said sternly causing Bubblegum to turn and look at her once more. "Thank you for taking care of me last night. I really appreciate it, you're the best you know that? Next time I'll make sure to put some sheets and a pillow on that bed so you're a little bit more comfortable."

She smiled and Bubblegum squinted at her, doing her best to look stern, "There had better not be a next time like that Marceline Abadeer."

Marceline chuckled, "Yes ma'am."

A loud rumbling filled the space between them and Marceline realized after a second that it was her stomach, ugh she didn't feel like eating anything but apparently her body had other thoughts. Bubblegum laughed and Marceline thought it was the most beautiful sound in the whole world, "Come on Marcy, get dressed and we'll go down to the dining hall to get you breakfast."

Bubblegum stood up and extended a hand which Marceline took, allowing herself to be pulled up off the bed. Bubblegum gave her hand a gentle squeeze before heading towards the door, "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go change."

"Okay sounds good."

Something was different, she didn't know what yet but there was a change in their relationship and it fascinated her. This was strange and new and nothing at all like what they had had before it was shattered. And that excited Marceline as she watched Bubblegum smile at her before quickly slipping into the hallway and closing the bedroom door.

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Thank you so much for all the favs/follows/reviews! :)


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay! So I'm back, sorry about the horrendously long wait, I had a lot of things come up. I should be posting more regularly again. As always thank you for reading and sticking with this story!_

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Bonnibel smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway and shouldered her way into her own room, lost in thought, not even registering that the door was left unlocked. Lady's voice greeted her almost as soon as she entered the room.

" _So I know you had a lot of clothes but I'm pretty sure it doesn't take the whole night to do laundry_." Bubblegum managed to look sheepish and shrugged, " _Yeah sorry I didn't mean to make you worry."_

" _Well you did, I thought you might have been kidnapped. What did you do? Sleep in the Laundromat?"_

" _Um…no_ "

Lady let out a very loud gasp and clasped her hands over her mouth before pointing right at Bubblegum. " _Oh my Glob! You slept with someone didn't you!"_

" _What!? No!"_ Bubblegum couldn't keep her voice from jumping up an octave in her surprise and Lady gave her a disbelieving look and opened her mouth to say something but Bubblegum cut her off quickly. _"I slept in Marceline's spare bed, you know, since her roommate left. Nothing happened, I saw her stumbling outside and helped her to her room and I was too tired to leave so I just crashed there. No biggie_."

Bubblegum ducked her head and started bustling around their room looking for clean clothes to change into. " _I thought you weren't going to allow yourself to like her_." Bubblegum paused halfway through putting on a fresh t-shirt. Lady was right, she couldn't let herself like Marceline, not in the way she wanted to anyway, she just really missed her best friend and wanted that connection back. Nothing more.

" _I'm not, but she is my friend. There's nothing wrong with hanging out with a friend_." Lady let out a huff, crossing her arms in front of herself. " _Well I think you should let yourself like her because there's no use fighting the inevitable_."

Bubblegum mumbled something incoherent and went into the bathroom to brush her hair and teeth. On her way back out through the room she stopped with her hand on the doorknob. " _We're going to get some breakfast. Do you want to come?_ "

She never looked up from the door but she could feel Lady grinning at her. " _No no that's okay I'm not hungry yet. Go enjoy yourself_!"

" _Yeah yeah yeah, see you later."_ She closed the door and made her way back to Marceline's room, knocking lightly. "Yeah come in!" Marceline's voice sounded slightly muffled through the door.

Bubblegum let herself in and was confused for a moment because she seemed to be the only one in the room before realizing Marcy was in the bathroom. The door was open and Marceline stood in front of the mirror brushing her long hair. Bubblegum sat down on the end of Marceline's bed facing the bathroom so she could watch the other girl. "Are you almost ready?" She asked teasingly.

Marceline stuck her tongue out. "Perfection takes time Bonnie." For some reason Bubblegum could feel her face heat up so she turned away from Marceline's smirking reflection. Silence started to fill the room but before it could stretch on for too long a voice could be heard shouting from the hallway.

"Marceline!"

Bubblegum looked up to Marceline who had stopped brushing her hair. "Are you expecting someone?" Marceline frowned, "Not that I'm aware of."

BANG! BANG! BANG! Someone was frantically pounding on the door. "MARCELINE! You had better be in your room! I freaking need you!"

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" Marceline shouted setting her brush down and making her way over to the door and then added more quietly, "Don't break down the damn door." She barely had it open a crack before a short, chubby girl with wild purple hair barged her way into the room.

"Oh thank glob I knew you were in here. What took you so long?" Marceline groaned, "What do you want LSP?" The girl scoffed, "Rude."

She then caught sight of Bubblegum who was still seated on the end of Marceline's bed. "Hey PB, jeez your hair looks terrible you should dye it again." Bubblegum frowned, "Gee thanks."

"Any time girl." Flipping her hair LSP turned back to Marceline, unfazed by Bubblegum's sarcastic tone. "So anyway I need your hairdryer. Mine broke and I've got to get ready for my lunch date with Brad. I'd ask Melissa but she's being a total snob and not answering my texts."

Marceline raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Its like 9am, why are you getting ready right now?"

"Duh, I have to make sure I look lumping perfect."

"Fine, but what's in it for me?"

"Ugh why do you have to be so freaking difficult!? Fine, what do you want?"

Marceline thought it over for a moment, "I want your first born child." Bubblegum's jaw dropped open, whatever she had been expecting to come out of Marceline's mouth it wasn't that. Even if the girl was only joking.

LSP was once again unfazed however, "Deal! Just hurry up and give it to me! I'm kind of in a big hurry here." Marceline chuckled and strode over to the bathroom and grabbed her hairdryer off the counter. After giving it to the other girl Marceline folded her arms in front of her chest, "I want that back by tonight."

"Yeah yeah details I know." LSP turned and raced out of the room again shouting over her shoulder as she went, "You're the best Marceline!"

Marceline closed the door and turned to face Bonnie with a smirk on her face. "You hear that? I'm the best." She waggled her eyebrows at Bubblegum who only rolled her eyes. "Psh! You wish!"

"Hey now!" Marceline made her way over to her closet and slipped on a pair of boots wearing a look of mock hurt. Turning back to Bubblegum she grinned, "Ready for some breakfast?"

"How do you not have a major hangover right now?"

Marcy winked, "I have super powers making me invincible to hangovers."

"Ha! Yeah right I bet."

XXXXXXXXXXX

After making their way down to the dining hall, grabbing their food, and securing a place to sit Bubblegum had a chance to really reflect on the current situation. She was actually having a pleasant conversation with Marceline and it felt like no time had passed between them, like she hadn't one day just dropped the only real friend she had ever had and deeply hurt them both. It was amazing and it made her happy.

"So anyway, there I was puking, no, spewing this red stuff all over the isle and no one knows what to do cause it looks like a dang crime scene!" Marceline was laughing so hard she almost couldn't get out all the words to her story. One hand was clutching the fabric of her shirt on her chest and the other flailing her fork around dangerously as her whole body shook with laughter.

Bubblegum wasn't sure if she was disgusted by the story or if she found it funny. "I can't believe you did that!"

Marceline, now in better control of herself after taking a few deep breathes just chuckled, "Hey it's not my fault the shrimp was bad!"

Bubblegum smiled, "Hey you remember that time we-"

"Excuse me ladies, I do hope I'm not interrupting anything." A low voice cut through whatever Bubblegum was about to say. She turned to see two boys standing over their table, one tall and skinny with bright blond hair and the other considerably shorter with rosy cheeks and dark hair.

"You're Bubblegum right?" The shorter one addressed her, completely ignoring Marceline. Bubblegum nodded and glanced over at her friend, but Marcy seemed to be deep in thought staring at the two boys as if trying to remember something.

"Yeah I thought so," The boy spoke again, "My name is Ricardio and this is Lemongrab," he motioned to his friend, "we have Chem. 1 together and I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now actually." Ricardio grinned and leaned forward towards Bubblegum.

"Hey!" Suddenly Marceline was standing and leaning over the table towards Ricardio with her palms flat on the table. "I thought you two looked familiar. Go away and leave us alone before I make you, we don't want anything to do with you two."

"Marceline!" Bubblegum exclaimed, she couldn't believe the other girl was acting like this. "That's so rude!"

Ricardio raised an eyebrow and finally turned to look up at Marceline slowly. When their eyes made contact a slow smile spread across his round face and he let out a chuckle. "Well hello again, looking well I see. Fine, we'll leave for now." He turned back to Bubblegum and bowed his head. "I'll see you in class." The two then turned and walked out of the dining hall with their heads tilted together as if deep in conversation.

When they were finally out of sight Bubblegum rounded on Marceline who was still standing and glaring at the door. "What in Glob's name was that? Why did you have to be so rude to those guys?" Marceline frowned and dropped herself back down into her seat with a thud. She sighed and ran a finger along her split lip before bringing her eyes up to meet Bubblegum's. "I'm sorry, those guys are just bad news. Trust me you don't want to have anything to do with them."

Bubblegum huffed as she leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah I'm gonna need a better reason than that. Do you know them?" Marceline grumbled something Bubblegum couldn't decipher and began picking at the hem of her shirt. "Come on Marcy, what's the matter with you huh? What did those guys ever do to you?"

"Ugh they were the ones okay?" Marceline blurted out. Bubblegum just sighed, "What are you talking about?" The other girl seemed to be having trouble making eye contact now, her eyes boring a hold into the table and determinedly not looking at Bubblegum.

"Those are the guys that were talking about you. They're the ones I got in a fight with last night."

"Oh."

Bubblegum sat for a moment not thinking anything as the words sank in. She glanced over at Marcy's split lip, which was still a bit swollen, and frowned. Why would Marceline pick a fight with those two idiots just because they said something? "What did they say Marcy?" she asked quietly.

Marceline shook her head and shrugged, "The short one wants in your pants because he is a self centered prick and thinks he can get whatever girl he wants. It was rude the way he talked about you and that made me mad so I decked him."

Bubblegum could feel her face heating up for the second time that day, she looked to the door that the two boys had left through and then back at Marceline who now had a small smile on her face. "Wow Bonnie your face got red really fast, I'm sorry I didn't mean to embarrass you."

Bubblegum chuckled awkwardly, "No, no it's okay. I'm fine. It's just really weird to think that someone thinks about me like that. It's gross." Marceline nodded and picked up her fork, pushing around some of her breakfast. "Yeah well if they ever try anything with you again just let me know and kick their butts."

"Ha! Yeah cause apparently that worked sooo well last time." Bubblegum smirked.

"Hey now! I was drunk and forgot that there was two of them! It won't happen again, trust me, I'll win."

"Yeah yeah I know, I believe you." Bubblegum watched Marceline take another bite before leaning forward to take a drink of her tea. She smiled, "Hey Marcy.."

The other girl looked up questioningly, "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Marceline smiled, a genuine smile that reached her eyes, "No problem Bonnie."


End file.
